Demokratische Zentrumspartei
The Demokratische Zemtrumspartie (Democratic Centre Party; DZP) is a Hulstrian and Gao-Soton political party founded in 3446 in response to what was perceived as the excessive adherence to their respective ideologies of the other parties. The DZP is centrist in terms of economics, but is socially liberal. As a newly founded party, it has a rapidly growing membership but only a small legislative caucus of twenty-six members, most of whom were originally defectors from other parties. The DZP is currently led by Chairman Markus Scherer. Philosophy The DZP advocates social liberalism and economic centrism, frequently criticising other parties for allegedly allowing ideology to blind them to pragmatic solutions. The DZP presents itself as a third way party which seeks to unite the best of both sides of the ideological spectrum in terms of economics instead of following a particular ideology; however, in the DZP is staunchly socially liberal and is critical of conservatism. The DZP has no factions of any significance, although many of its members can be classified as left-leaning or right-leaning. History Founding (3446 - 3452) The DZP was founded in late 3446 by a group of centrists. Several were politicians and others were civil servants; however, many had no previous experience of politics or government. Discussions about founding a new centrist party began early in the year, but did not begin to make significant progress until later on. The party could not be founded in time for the general election, held in August 3446. The establishment of the party was announced on October 7, 3446. By that time, Gunther Scherer, Mayor of Labsburg, and Friedrich Herrlein, a union leader, had emerged as pre-eminent over the other founders. They were therefore the front-runners for the later leadership contest, which was held in early November. All party members were entitled to vote in the leadership election. Scherer was elected Chairman and Herrlein became Vice Chairman, while experienced civil servant Katarine Rantzau was elected Secretary-General uncontested. Scherer shortly announced the composition of his frontbench. The DZP rapidly grew in both size and prominence. In April 3447, many members of the Schererite wing of the Allianz für Freiheit (AF), led by Markus Scherer (no relation to Gunther), defected en masse to the DZP. Futher defections followed, most of them by AF members, and some by Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei (SDAP) members. The DZP's legislative caucus soon elected Paul Hiebsch, a defector from the AF, its Chairperson. Meanwhile, Gunther Scherer was elected to the Reichstag in a by-election. The DZP achieved a number of early legislative victories. The Union Ballots Act 3447 and Transportation Act 3449 notably received unanimous legislative support and was passed by acclamation. The DZP also proposed a "shadow budget" in an attempt to draw attention to what the DZP saw as excessively low government spending on public services; this was strongly criticised by the government. The DZP also played a major role in the failure of the Hosianisch-Demokratisches Verbund (HDV)'s Civil Education Act 3450. 3452 - Present In the election of August 3452, despite high initial hopes, the DZP failed to make significant gains, increasing its seat share from sixteen to twenty-six, winning just over two million votes out of sixty-one million. Previously, the election was considered the party's best chance for an early electoral breakthrough. Instead, the far-right Freisinnige Volkspartei (FVP) won an unexpected major victory with almost two-fifths of the vote. As a result of the DZP's poor electoral performance, confidence in its Chairman, Gunther Scherer, fell. Initially popular, Scherer now suffered from declining support, especially among the party's legislative caucus. In October 3452, Markus Scherer (no relation) provoked a leadership election, held in November. Gunther Scherer declared that if he did not win sixty per cent of the vote in the first round, he would stand aside. Against two challengers, Gunther Scherer failed to win even half of the vote, and resigned. Markus Scherer won narrowly against Deputy Chairman and acting Chairman Friedrich Herrlein to become Chairman. Shortly after Markus Scherer became Chairman, he reshuffled the frontbench. (Henceforth, unless otherwise stated, "Scherer" will refer to Markus Scherer, not Gunther Scherer.) A second, minor, reshuffled was necessitated by the resignation of Murai Hiraoka as Finance Critic. Hiraoka, as the former Governor of the Imperial Central Bank, was blamed for the interest rate policies that led to the financial crisis of 3453. Leadership Current Leadership List of Leaders Electoral results